1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotor blade (e.g., flaperon) operating device in an airplane for vertically moving left and right rotor blades (flaperons) which are movably mounted on the trailing edges of left and right main wings, in reverse phases and in the same phase.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such rotor blade (flaperon) operating devices in the airplanes are known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-47156, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-33360 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 49-124800.
The above known rotor blade (flaperon) operating devices in airplanes suffer a problem that an aileron-operating input and a flap-operating input are transmitted to rotor blades through a complicated mixing mechanism comprising a large number of links and levers, resulting in an increase in the number of parts and a complicated structure, and causing an increase in cost, an increase in weight and the occurrence of trouble. Also the entire device is increased in size, whereby it is difficult to ensure space for mounting the device on an airframe. The rotor blades only have an aileron function and a flap function and do not have a drag reducing function.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rotor blade (flaperon) operating device in an airplane, which is of a simple, small-sized and lightweight structure, which is easy to mount on an airframe, and which has a drag reducing function in addition to an aileron function, an elevator function and a flap function.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is proposed a rotor blade operating device in an airplane including rotor blades vertically movably mounted on the trailing edge of left and right main wings, respectively, so that the left and right rotor blades are moved vertically in reverse phases to control a rolling moment; moved vertically in the same phase to control lifting power or pitching moment, and moved vertically in the same phase by a very small steering angle to control drag. The rotor blade operating device comprises a rotor mounted for clockwise and counterclockwise rotation about a rotor shaft extending in the longitudinal direction of an airframe, a slider mounted for clockwise and counterclockwise rotation in unison with the rotor and for longitudinal movement along the rotor shaft. A first left link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the rotor shaft, a first right link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the rotor shaft, a second left link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the slider and at the other end thereof at an intermediate portion or the other end of the first left link, a second right link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the slider and at the other end thereof at an intermediate portion or the other end of the first right link, a third left link is pivotally supported at a laterally inner end thereof at the other end of the first left link and coupled at a laterally outer end thereof to the left rotor blade through a connecting mechanism, and a third right link pivotally supported at a laterally inner end thereof at the other end of the first right link and coupled at a laterally outer end thereof to the right rotor blade through a connecting mechanism. Thus the left and right rotor blades are vertically moved in reverse phases by rotating the rotor and the slider clockwise or counterclockwise about the rotor shaft and moving the third left and right links laterally in the same direction through the second left and right links and the first left and right links, and the left and right rotor blades are vertically moved in the same phase by moving the slider longitudinally along the rotor shaft and moving the first left and right links and the third left and right links laterally in the opposite directions through the second left and right links.
With the above arrangement, the third left and right links can be moved laterally in the same direction through the second left and right links and the first left and right links by rotating the rotor and the slider clockwise or counterclockwise about the rotor shaft, whereby the left and right rotor blades can be vertically moved in the reverse phases to function as ailerons, and the first left and right links and the third left and right links can be moved laterally in the opposite directions through the second left and right links by moving the slider longitudinally along the rotor shaft, whereby the left and right rotor blades can be vertically moved in the same phase to function as flaps or elevators. Further, the drag can be reduced by vertically moving the left and right rotor blades in the same phase by a very small angle to control boundary layers on the main wings. Thus, it is possible to allow the rotor blades to provide the flap functions to provide an increase in maximum lifting power, or it is possible to allow the rotor blades to provide the elevator functions to control the pitching, and at the same time, it is possible to provide the aileron functions to carry out the control of rolling without hindrance. Further, the drag on the main wings can be reduced during cruising of the airplane to reduce the amount of fuel consumed. Moreover, the first left and right links and the second left and right links are pivotally supported at one-ends thereof on the rotor and the slider which are supported on the common rotor shaft, respectively, the second left and right links are pivotally supported at the other ends thereof at the intermediate portions or the other ends of the first left and right links, and the left and right rotor blades are operated by the third left and right links pivotally supported at the other ends of the first left and right links. Therefore, the rotor blade operating device can be made in an extremely simple structure and at a low cost, a small size and a light weight, and is easy to mount on the airframe.
According to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, the rotor blade operating device further includes an actuator for operating the slider longitudinally along the rotor shaft, and a control means for calculating a steering angle for the left and right rotor blades in order to minimize the drag on the main wings and for controlling the operation of the actuator based on the calculated steering angle.
With the above arrangement, the control means calculates the steering angle for the left and right rotor blades in order to minimize the drag on the main wings and operates the actuator based on the calculated steering angle, thereby controlling the steering angles for the left and right rotor blades. Therefore, the drag on the main wings can be effectively reduced.
In the first and second features, flaperons FEL and FER in an embodiment correspond to rotor blades in the present invention; a center shaft in the embodiment corresponds to the rotor shaft in the present invention; a center pulley in the embodiment corresponds to the rotor in the present invention; and a control unit in the embodiment corresponds to the control means in the present invention.
To achieve the above object, according to a third aspect and feature of the present invention, there is proposed a flaperon operating device in an airplane including left and right flaperons vertically movably mounted respectively on the trailing edges of the left and right main wings, wherein they are moved vertically in reverse phases to function as ailerons, and they are moved vertically in the same phase to functions as flaps. The flaperon operating device comprises a rotor mounted for clockwise and counterclockwise rotation about a rotor shaft extending in a longitudinal direction of an airframe, and a slider mounted for clockwise and counterclockwise rotation in unison with the rotor and for longitudinal movement along the rotor shaft. A first left link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the rotor shaft, a first right link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the rotor shaft, a second left link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the slider and at the other end thereof at the other end of the first left link, a second right link is pivotally supported at one end thereof on the slider and at the other end thereof at the other end of the first right link, a third left link is pivotally supported at a laterally inner end thereof at the other end of the first left link and connected at a laterally outer end thereof to the left flaperon through a connecting mechanism, and a third right link is pivotally supported at a laterally inner end thereof at the other end of the first right link and connected at a laterally outer end thereof to the right flaperon through a connecting mechanism. Thus, the left and right flaperons are caused to function as ailerons in such a manner that they are vertically moved in reverse phases by rotating the rotor and the slider clockwise or counterclockwise about the rotor shaft and moving the third left and right links laterally in the same direction through the second left and right links and the first left and right links, and the left and right flaperons are caused to function as flaps in such a manner that they are vertically moved in the same phase by moving the slider longitudinally along the rotor shaft and moving the first left and right links and the third left and right links laterally in the opposite directions through the second left and right links.
With the above arrangement, the third left and right links can be moved laterally in the same direction through the second left and right links and the first left and right links by rotating the rotor and the slider clockwise or counterclockwise about the rotor shaft, whereby the left and right flaperons can be vertically moved in the reverse phases to function as ailerons, and the first left and right links and the third left and right links can be moved laterally in the opposite directions through the second left and right links by moving the slider longitudinally along the rotor shaft, whereby the left and right flaperons can be vertically moved in the same phase to function as flaps. Thus, it is possible to allow the flaperons to provide the flap functions in the taking-off or landing of the airplane, to thereby provide an increase in maximum lifting power, and at the same time, it is possible to allow the flaperons to provide the aileron functions to carry out the control of rolling without hindrance. Moreover, the first left and right links and the second left and right links are pivotally supported at one-ends thereof on the rotor and the slider which are supported on the common rotor shaft, respectively, so that the left and right flaperons are operated by the third left and right links pivotally supported at the other ends of the first and second left and right links. Therefore, the flaperon-operating device can be made in an extremely simple structure and at a low cost, a small size and a light weight, and is easy to mount on the airframe.
According to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, each of the coupling mechanisms includes a driving pulley connected to the laterally outer end of the third link for rotation, a driven pulley linked to the driving pulley through a control cable, and a flaperon link adapted to convert the rotation of the driven pulley into the vertical movement of the flaperon.
With the above arrangement, the third link and the flaperon are connected to each other through the coupling mechanism comprising the driving pulley, the control cable, the driven pulley and the flaperon link and hence, the left and right flaperons at locations laterally spaced apart from the third links can be driven by a simple and lightweight structure.
According to a fifth aspect and feature of the present invention, the aileron-steering angle at the time when the flaperon is in a flap-lowered state is set at a value smaller than the aileron-steering angle at the time when the flaperon is in a flap-lifted state.
With the above arrangement, the aileron-steering angle at the time when the flaperon is in a flap-lowered state is made smaller and hence, it is possible to prevent a total lowering angle of a flap-lowering angle and a aileron-lowering angle from being excessive, thereby alleviating the steering force and avoiding the generation of a stalling of a wing tip.
In the above third to fifth features, a center shaft in the embodiment corresponds to a rotor shaft in the present invention, and a center pulley in the embodiment corresponds to a rotor in the present invention.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.